Journey for Tiger Save Tiger Habitats to Save MOTHER NATURE… Tigers are synonymous with Asian Wilderness, vital to our culture for many centuries. Tiger is the symbol of a lone warrior, famous for its enigma, hegemony and valour. This supreme beast is subject to numerous folktales and fables in Asian literature, predominantly in India, China and Japan. Citation of tigers as an integrated part of tribal culture dates back as early as Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro civilization, almost 5000 years back. In an ancient Chinese writing, more than 2000 years back, tigers were delineated as, “existence of tigers is excellent for humans, as tigers prey on boars that destroy cultivation”. Since early Chinese civilization tigers embody fortune just like unicorns and dragons and have been deemed as protectors. But unlike unicorns and dragons, which are imaginary, tigers are very much real and a critical part of our eco-system. In Chinese alphabets, the pattern on a tiger’s forehead resemblances the ideogram that represents kings, hence tigers are revered as royalty. In Aryan and Non-Aryan religious practices in India, tigers are worshipped as or in association with deities. Tigers have often been used as national symbols for many countries. In modern times India, Bangladesh, Malayasia, South Korea have crowned Tiger as the National Animal. As a whole, in Asian civilization, the name tiger transpires awe and aura. Not just in fables and cultures, tigers have been playing a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem since the beginning being at the apex of the Food Chain as the largest land predator. Preying on large herbivores, it maintains the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed, thereby conserving the ecological capacity of the ecosystem. The extinction of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected, and neither would it exist for long thereafter. Though tigers are eminent parts of Asian Natural History and playing an important role as the guard of the environment since the beginning, their stint with contemporary is daunting. Among nine original sub-species of tigers, three declared extinct by 1980 (Bali 1940, Java 1970, Caspian 1981). Remaining six sub-species are trying hard to keep up with the shifting scenarios of natural habitats. Stretching from the snow-clad south of Amur Basin in the far North, to the tropical dry and moist deciduous, evergreen forests, rain forests and mangrove forests, there are only 3800 tigers left in the wilderness till date. Out of those 3800 wild tigers, we have more than 2600 in India. If we don’t take immediate action to spread awareness regarding the necessities of Tiger Conservation among people of the countries, where these largest felids of the earth still roam in woods, we will lose them forever. It’s not just about saving a beautiful animal. It is about making sure that we live a little longer as the forests are known to provide ecological services like clean air, water, pollination, temperature regulation etc. “Journey for the Tiger” is a cross border bike ride to create awareness on Environment and Tiger Conservation among people, especially children and youth. This will the very first initiative of its kind in the history of Tiger Conservation Efforts across the globe.
Voyagers’ Profile Mr. Rathindranath Das & Mrs. Gitanjali Dasgupta Rathindranath Das, popularly known as “Rathin” (Wild Rathin in Facebook) among nature and wildlife lovers of the country is a 42-year old Wildlife Enthusiast and conservationist from Kolkata. Inspired by the Part IV A, Article 51A/G of the Constitution of India, Rathin considered it as his fundamental duty as an Indian to contribute in conservation activities to protect lakes, rivers, forests and wildlife of the country. Rathin has been dedicatedly associated with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau for last 4 years in their Anti-Poaching and Wildlife Conservation Programmes. Being an innate rider with unconstrained compassion for the environment and wildlife, Rathin has always looked for ways to contribute as little as he could to make the world a better place to live, by making valuable alliances with conscious minds across the globe. He started his first ever venture “All India Bike Tour” from 3rd October ’16 to 13th February ’17, endorsing the theme “Save Forest Save Wildlife”. Rathin covered a total of 27138km, 29 States, 5 Union Territories and conducted awareness campaign in 2200 Schools across the Nation. That venture was covered by Local and National News Medias. In his second undertaking, Rathin covered 2822km and conducted awareness on the theme ‘SAVE RHINOs’ in 167 Schools across West Bengal and Assam. After the great success of first two, Rathin and his fellow Nature Enthusiast Mrs. Gitanjali Dasgupta (she is also his better half) together rode to covered 6021km and reached 232 schools across 10 Indian states to spread awareness on “Why to save our Wildlife!”
The Plan The “Journey” will be undertaken in three phases to cover all the Tiger populated countries across the world with the slogan “Save Wildlife Habitats to Save MOTHER NATURE”. In the 1st Phase, all 50 Tiger Reserves across India will be covered and awareness programme will be conducted in 500 schools and villages in tiger populated areas of the country. In the 2nd Phase, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam Cambodia and Laos will be covered. China, Russia, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh will be covered in the 3rd and Final Phase. On Completion, this journey will create several national and International records. Rathin and Gitanjali Will be the first ever Indian couple to reach all 29 States and 7 Union Territories of India in a single motorcycle ride. They will be the first ever to touch down the lands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep in a nation-wide motorcycle ride. This will be the first ever motorcycle campaign across all 13 Tiger habitat countries. For the very 1st time, any Indian will ride from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg (approximately 10,000km) in Russia. All these will be new records according to the Guinness Book of World Record, Indian Book of Record and Limca Book of Record.
The journey so far Rathin and Gitanjali completed the 1st Phase of their journey on 10th of November 2019. They started from Kolkata on 15th February 2019. In these 269 days, the team travelled a total distance of 36492 km on their Hero CBZ Xtreme 200R across all the 28 (then 29) states and 5 union territories of mainland India visiting all the 50 tiger reserves in India and above 100 Wildlife Sanctuaries. During their journey, they conducted awareness programmes in 643 school and over 3000 villages.
News Coverage and Acknowledgements: https://ekhonkhobor.com/2019/02/15/80000-km-poth-pari-bangalidompotir/?fbclid=IwAR1PCpzXjXdT6Jmx46mt6ak7KdBMvWjT__7us7c1KENv_f3M6nCoNA6mUU https://www.anandabazar.com/district/midnapore/a-couple-have-startedsave-tiger-project-through-biking-near-jhargram-forest-area1.956521?fbclid=IwAR0L0w4tZ1WhHP78wKCyS4nlJaYYIG9MCq3HhH4go58rLd iHUnrdxCvz8JQ http://khobormedinipur.in/2019/02/23/11/28/2275/?fbclid=IwAR0rg2UQnM mHf8DNp9uqXNEN3e-hclt-xJMEHfobEySpVRUPsVSZt6Ocq_w https://www.aajkaal.in/news/northbengal/bike-2eia?fbclid=IwAR09DfafIQrf1F05QxwKhOdzA1ERmDt9R2QmFIYNYxiEWtOeSYSHpLlZfE http://www.bongodorshon.com/home/story_detail/newly-married-coupletravelling-eighty-thousand-km-to-save-wildlife?fbclid=IwAR0DKL2fUlbvped8NTvDTRhrk612TUjKRh5xeF4voJf2cjurr9Rx6fJ-Xs https://www.sangbadpratidin.in/bengal/bikers-on-tiger-conservationdrive/?fbclid=IwAR2xsULZeppvDdizJdLDmR6GcLzqUN75v7zNLyVfJNJu8TjacTLvfIlC7g https://siliguritimes.com/couple-set-out-to-visit-13-countries-with-themessage-of-conservingtigers/?fbclid=IwAR3dKckgWCYgxVFaYzRQ42hard_LeQ8tznulO5Nqpw15dIuXQ cmh_bPOtwI https://ekhonkhobor.com/2019/03/05/13-deshe-pari-debendompotti/?fbclid=IwAR2P_pfCyC_qzj2jLiXYDs_jcoKBYEDIYOA3V8ThxLW5Xx_jH IreVEBMjFY https://m.dailyhunt.in/buzz/video/bangla/misc/bagh-sanrakshaner-bartaniye-dampatir-desh-bhraman6110470?s=a&ss=pd&fbclid=IwAR2eDfAUrc_QcCVSJKYS9i8sSFo4LHzkbGjS6k Oi1zdAcU90mXKi6DYa8uo https://www.facebook.com/2236550339967409/videos/2262996950656081/ https://newssense.in/2019/03/01/couple-undertakes-bike-journey-acrossthe-world-for-tiger/ http://bardhaman.com/rathin-geetanjali-in-durgapur-during-journey-for-tigerexpedition/
https://epaper.telegraphindia.com/imageview_261534_131524505_4_undefine d_31-03-2019_11_i_1_sf.html http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/iphone/showpage.aspx?issue=8933 2019051800000000001001&page=17&returnUrl=http%253a%252f%252fpaper. hindustantimes.com%252fepaper%252fiphone%252fhomepage.aspx%2523_title 89332019051800000000001001%252fwatitle89332019051800000000001001 %252f8933%252f89332019051800000000001001%252f17%252ftrue&x=0.463 66782006920415&y=0.5659955257270693 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80DCt-IE4w&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOaKiikmOH8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1k-zGNsqRs&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTfKk-vtGXU&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mAmcuEVPlk&feature=youtu.be
Global Tiger Forum has acknowledged Rathindranath Das’s effort towards Conservation.
Society for Heritage & Ecological Research (SHER) supports Rathin’s Global Journey to spread awareness about the necessity of Tiger Conservation among people.
The Joint Director of Sundarban Biosphere Reserve appreciates Rathin’s Journey for Tiger.
Nature Environment & Wildlife Society Supports Rathin’s Journey for Tigers.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest extends support to Rathins Journey on behalf of the West Bengal Forest Dpt.
TSA Foundation-India support Rathin’s Journey for Tigers across the globe.
Regional Dy. Director, Eastern Region, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau supported Rathin’s journey.
Reach Rathindranath Das at
: rathinjourneyfortiger2018@gmail.com wewild2018@gmail.com (+91) 8777624959 / (+91) 9007544691 www.wildrathinaroundthe.world https://www.facebook.com/rathin.das.14
Reach Exploring Nature at
:
info@exploringnature.org.in www.exploringnature.org.in https://www.facebook.com/exploringnature.official https://twitter.com/exploring_natur
